Hyderabad: The Chevella Lok Sabha constituency, situated on the outskirts of Hyderabad, has become a political battleground. The ruling Congress and the opposition BJP are engaged in a fierce electoral battle to secure the seat from the BRS, which lost power in the recent Assembly polls. The Chevella constituency was established in 2009 after the delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies. The Congress won the Chevella seat in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls when it was the ruling party in combined Andhra Pradesh. However, after the formation of Telangana State in 2014, the BRS (then TRS) won the Chevella seat in the Lok Sabha elections held in 2014 and 2019.
The political landscape in Chevella has undergone significant changes in the past five months following the BRS' loss in the Assembly polls in December 2023. The BRS has lost its leaders and cadre base to the Congress and the BJP, relegating it to a third position in the constituency. The incumbent MP from Chevella, Gaddam Ranjith Reddy, has quit the BRS and is now contesting as a Congress candidate. Similarly, Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, who won as an MP on the BRS ticket from Chevella in 2014, joined the Congress in 2018, contested as a Congress candidate in 2019, and later joined the BJP. Interestingly, Konda and Ranjith, who were BRS MPs in 2014 and 2019, are now competing against each other as BJP and Congress candidates, respectively.
The BRS, having lost two of its prominent leaders to the BJP and Congress, has fielded Kasani Gnaneshwar, a BC leader from the Mudiraj community, who joined the BRS in November 2023 just before the Assembly polls. Issues such as GO 111, poor roads, lack of proper road and rail connectivity, extension of MMTS rail services, irrigation and drinking water problems, and the Regional Ring Road dominate the election campaigning in rural areas.
BJP candidate Konda Vishweshwar Reddy has released a 'special manifesto' for Chevella, promising to improve basic infrastructure facilities in 900 villages, enhance education facilities, boost agriculture, promote local employment opportunities, advance infrastructure, and enhance social welfare with effective implementation of central and state welfare schemes. Additionally, Konda promised to develop and promote rural tourism hubs across Parigi, Vikarabad, Chevella, Kandukur, and Tandur.
Konda emphasises that a BJP-led government will come to power for a third term at the Centre, and as a BJP MP collaborating with the Central government, he will secure more funds for the development of the constituency. He also promises to allocate MPLADS funds amounting to `5 crore annually towards Chevella's comprehensive development. In addition, through the Konda Madhava Reddy Foundation, established in memory of his father, he pledges to undertake several welfare and development programmes with his own funds.
Congress candidate G. Ranjith Reddy is also seeking votes on similar grounds, stating that the Congress is in power in the state and that the Congress-led I.N.D.I.A. bloc will come to power at the Centre in June. If elected from Chevella, he promises to secure funds for the constituency's development from both state and Central governments.
Ranjith Reddy highlights his achievements during his previous term as Chevella MP, including convincing the then Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao to lift GO 111, which had hindered Chevella's development. He promises to further implement GO 111 with the support of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy if re-elected. Ranjith Reddy also pledges to provide MMTS rail connectivity, supply water from Jurala to Vikarabad, improve infrastructure facilities in government schools and hospitals, and upgrade existing government educational institutions.
